Musical-instrument valve.



P. HARDY.-

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT .VALVE.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT-9,1914.

1,147,166. Patented'July 20, 1915.

OFFICE.

PAUL HARDY, 0F ELKHART, INDIANA.

MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT VALVE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed September 9, 1914. Serial No. 860,873.

To all whom it may concern v Be it known that I, PAUL HARDY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical-Instrument Valves, of which the following is a specification. 7

This invention relates to a valve for stopping a port or opening in a musical wind instrument. Valves for this purpose are usually moved in one direction by a spring and in the opposite direction by afinger pressure and are required to move freely and very promptly without undue exertion on the part of the player; yet such valves are required to seat very accurately and tightly'upon the openings which they are designed to close. For these reasons, it is customary to construct valves for this purpose of a cup, together with a membrane of soft leather or other material equivalent for the purpose, and to provide a fibrous or other soft filler between the membrane and the cup which adapts the membrane to conform ac-' curately to the edge of the opening and effect a perfect closure. It has been customary to introduce a shaping disk of cardboard or other flexible material into the membrane to maintain its position, particularly in valves in which the edges of the membrane have been folded back beneath the filler and have been utilized for securing the membrane and packing to the disk, as for instance by shellac or other adhesive. But shapingpieces of this character have not only detracted somewhat from the pliability of the membrane, but have not proven eifective in maintaining the spread of the membrane, and in course of time become mis shapen and permit the membrane to draw inward until it impairs the closure to be effected by the valve.

The present invention provldes a valve of this general type in which the membrane is not only permanently and accurately spread, but is left entirely free throughout that portion which contacts with the edge of the port or opening to be closed, so that a superior effect is produced and the valve is rendered very much more permanent. Moreover, the shaping means presents the outer periphery of the membrane in uniform and permanent relation to the cup, which greatly improves the appearance of the valve, particularly since the cup is usually of highly polished metal and the membrane is preferably of a high grade of white kid leather. In other words, the present invention produces a valve which is superior not only functionally but esthetically.

Incarrying out the .present invention, a shaping ring or annulus is employed, over which the membrane is drawn and from which it is turned inward to provide the inturned confining wall for the soft filler; the shaping ring being of such diameter that it rests upon the flange of the cup and sustains the membrane by suspension rather than by a supporting surface within it, so that the membrane is permanently retained to the. proper dimensions The fibrous or other soft filler. is preferably used as heretofore, to sustain the membrane against undue stretching and the inturned portions of the membrane may, as heretofore, be utilized for holding the membrane in place by a suitable adhesive introduced between said inturned portion and the cup. These details, however, while combining with the essential feature of my invention to produce superior results, are not to be taken as features of limitation, as it is obvious that the membrane might be sufficiently stretched over the suspending ring to avoid the necessity of the filler, and other means might be employed i 3 the filler of fibrous or other soft material,

which may correspond in structure and material to known valves for wind musical instruments; and the membrane with its filler may be secured in place by the inturned portion 4 adhered to the cup 1 in a well known manner. But spreading disk within the membrane, as has heretofore been the practice, a ring 6 is provided within the membrane of such diameter as to adapt it to rest upon the flange 50f the cup or disk 1, and over this ring v6 the instead of employing a of the construction, as the essence of the invention consists inthe shaping ring over Which the membrane is spread. Nor is the invention limited to the'support of the ring in raised position upon the edge of the flange, although this is preferable.

In using the Word cup, I refer to the body or support for the other parts of the valve Which is usually designated by that term. But the invention lS-IlOt limited to a valve member of strictly cup-shape, so long as there is a prominent sustaining edge and a hollow Within the same.

I claim 1. A valve for wind musicalinstruments comprising a cup, a membrane suitably connected With said cup in position to provide a seating face of the valve, and a ring interposed between the membrane and cup and giving shape to the membrane.

2. A valve for wind musical instruments comprising a cup having a flange, a inembrane secured to said 'cup 1n posltion to provide the seating face of the valve, and a ring over which the membrane is folded; said ring being supported upon the flange of the brane secured to said cup in position to pro vide the seating face of the valve, and a ring over which the membrane is folded; said ring being supported upon the flange of the cup; the folded portion of the membrane being placed next to and secured to the cup.

4:. A valve for wind musical instruments comprising a cup having a flange, a membrane secured to said cup in position to provide the seating faceof the valve, and a ring over Which the membrane is folded; said ring being supported upon the flange of the cup; the folded portion of the membrane being placed next to and secured to the cup, and a yielding filler being intera posed between the seating surface of the membrane and the cup.

The foregoing specification signed at Elkhart, Indiana, this 19th day of August, 1914.

PAUL HARDY.

In'presence of- JOHN STANSBURY, L. BENNET I'IEATOR. 

